Search found 275 matches
- March 21st, 2024, 3:31 pm
- Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
- Topic: Karl Fulves Magic Medallion inquiry
- Replies: 6
- Views: 543
Re: Karl Fulves Magic Medallion inquiry
The Koran Medallion - and I imagine this Tannen’s trick - owes a great deal to Stewart James. Uncredited, of course,
- February 3rd, 2024, 4:37 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Unknown Life of Karl Fulves
- Replies: 46
- Views: 4541
Re: The Unknown Life of Karl Fulves
You’re welcome. It is really moving forward in a lovely way, and there will be lots of surprises. At least they have certainly been so for me. It has been a real privilege for me to be involved with this project.
- February 3rd, 2024, 4:05 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Unknown Life of Karl Fulves
- Replies: 46
- Views: 4541
Re: The Unknown Life of Karl Fulves
Well, I can assure you that there were lots of people over the years who wrote to Karl, and who received replies. I was one of them. At this time I can also say that we are working with his family to make sure it is a fitting tribute to his life and work. That’s all for now.
- February 3rd, 2024, 3:37 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The Unknown Life of Karl Fulves
- Replies: 46
- Views: 4541
Re: The Unknown Life of Karl Fulves
Issue No. 200 of Magicol - No. 199 will roll out shortly - will feature, among other things, the definitive biography of Karl Fulves. It is an amazing story.
Re: ERDNASE
Jim On page 23 of The Expert at the Card Table, Erdnase wrote, “Excessive vanity proves the undoing of many experts.” And on page 10, he wrote, “The professional rarely “squeals” when he gets the worst of it; the man who has other means of livelihood is the hardest loser.” So I suppose that my respo...
Re: ERDNASE
Well Jack, I don’t normally respond to such open questions because I could write a thousand words on why it is such a terrible piece of filmmaking. Judging from your response to Dustin’s post, however, your question seems asked in earnest so I will give a truncated reply. First, those interviewed we...
Re: ERDNASE
I am surprised there has been no commentary on this film on this forum. https://youtu.be/KTVpY3ZPoIk I’ll start. A terrible piece of filmmaking that is still worth watching. (Full disclosure: I am in it.) I imagine that the only reason it was posted in its current state was to comply with crowdfundi...
- November 16th, 2023, 9:17 pm
- Forum: Close-Up Magic
- Topic: Ibidem #20
- Replies: 7
- Views: 2344
Re: Ibidem #20
Richard reached out to me about your predicament. I can provide you with a replacement copy of Volume 2 of Ibidem.
Please send me your contact info at david@davidben.com so I can follow up. (I’m not very responsive to the PM component on the Forum.)
Please send me your contact info at david@davidben.com so I can follow up. (I’m not very responsive to the PM component on the Forum.)
- September 21st, 2023, 11:56 am
- Forum: Magic History and Anecdotes
- Topic: Dai Vernon Tour Info
- Replies: 23
- Views: 4250
- July 2nd, 2023, 8:10 am
- Forum: Feature Articles
- Topic: Vernon's silhouettes
- Replies: 102
- Views: 78854
Re: Vernon's silhouettes
For those interested in this topic, you will find Larry Horowitz and Steve Schlanger’s article, “The Evolution of Dai Vernon’s Autograph”, in Magicol, No. 187, the May 2014 issue, of interest.
- July 1st, 2023, 1:21 pm
- Forum: Feature Articles
- Topic: Vernon's silhouettes
- Replies: 102
- Views: 78854
- June 30th, 2023, 8:36 am
- Forum: Feature Articles
- Topic: Vernon's silhouettes
- Replies: 102
- Views: 78854
Re: Vernon's silhouettes
I’m not sure that I’m the expert either, but I’ve looked at hundreds of Vernon’s silhouettes from different decades, and I agree with Bill.
- March 18th, 2023, 6:17 pm
- Forum: Feature Articles
- Topic: Card Counting
- Replies: 44
- Views: 18918
- March 18th, 2023, 6:23 am
- Forum: Feature Articles
- Topic: Card Counting
- Replies: 44
- Views: 18918
Re: Card Counting
Barry Allen’s post reminded me of another faux-counting sequence I used to do some 35 or 40 years ago. It was by Ed Marlo (and I can’t recall from which publication or source.) It was a way of performing without performing. You are handed a deck, start to shuffle it, and exclaim that something doesn...
- March 14th, 2023, 8:47 pm
- Forum: Light From the Lamp
- Topic: Warning - The Rich Cabinet Collection
- Replies: 3
- Views: 3824
Warning - The Rich Cabinet Collection
While we are pleased to announce that Vol. 3 and 4 in the series are now being shipped, subscribers to the series must be careful. Magicana went overboard on the packing to make sure that both volumes arrive in pristine condition. This means there are many layers of packing to unwrap. Please resist ...
- February 1st, 2023, 8:21 am
- Forum: Close-Up Magic
- Topic: Schwarzman Demo
- Replies: 29
- Views: 2705
Re: Schwarzman Demo
I’m sorry but I can’t let that one go by without a response. I know Bill Malone, and he is indeed a very fine magician, with cards - and without cards. But so was Howie Schwarzman. The comparison to Howie being a good high school soccer player is offensive. Howie, seeing me perform something twenty-...
- January 26th, 2023, 7:27 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: Who said ‘you should be able to describe a trick in a single sentence?’
- Replies: 35
- Views: 7068
Re: Who said ‘you should be able to describe a trick in a single sentence?’
Where, of course, is Max Maven when you need him?
- January 26th, 2023, 7:23 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: RIP Max Maven
- Replies: 69
- Views: 11234
Re: RIP Max Maven
I love Bob, and Bob knows that, but… I was the President of the club at the time who asked Max to do the theory lecture. Bob’s description of the member was only partially correct. I am surprised that Bob did not use one of his previous turns of phrase, “the guy swore he was Austrian, but forgot the...
Re: ERDNASE
You’re right, Richard. Shifting the type on the title page would have been ever so dramatic. Nice to know that your years with Stella Adler paid off
- July 31st, 2022, 4:42 am
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: FISM 2022 Day 6
- Replies: 9
- Views: 2169
Re: FISM 2022 Day 6
Craig Frankly, I am not surprised that there was no after party. (I left Saturday morning for another obligation.) It should be evident to anyone who has ever produced an event that the organizers would have been hemorrhaging cash throughout the event, and that decisions would have to be made. There...
- July 25th, 2022, 4:45 am
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Merlin award scam - an article by Tom Stone
- Replies: 62
- Views: 6366
Re: Merlin award scam - an article by Tom Stone
Tom - a great article. It has the stuff for a wonderful screenplay. Funny, poignant and pathetic, with an extraordinary cast of characters. I suggest you get right on it.
Re: Acting
Good to hear the viewpoint from someone who studied there. It is amazing that the book and film retrospective is getting such traction. It is a very interesting topic and I hope that others with experience and viewpoint will also chip in - not just here - but in the greater arts, film, theatre and a...
Acting
As there has been a discussion of what is or is not considered acting on the Forum, here is a link to an interview that came out today related to the history of Method Acting that I found illuminating. (I’m going to order the book for sure.) https://hyperallergic.com/748733/the-method-on-film-bam-in...
- March 24th, 2022, 9:08 pm
- Forum: Close-Up Magic
- Topic: Use of Depth Illusion in Triumph Routine Credit Question
- Replies: 13
- Views: 2521
Re: Use of Depth Illusion in Triumph Routine Credit Question
For what it is worth, I developed an in-the hands false Faro shuffle - a sort of an in-the-hands Zarrow shuffle that used the Depth of Illusion principle - for a routine called Invisible Triumph that appeared in my book Tricks. I had published it much earlier, however, in Apocalypse under the name R...
- January 12th, 2022, 6:44 am
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Ricky Jay - his legacy in the world of magic
- Replies: 80
- Views: 6423
Re: Ricky Jay - his legacy in the world of magic
I am probably going to regret saying this but… Respectfully, what makes you think that Ricky had secrets, meaning material he learned from people like Vernon and Miller, to share? Having studied Vernon a great deal, and having copies of much of Miller’s correspondence (coming in and going out), and ...
- January 1st, 2022, 4:03 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: 2021 In Review
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1937
Re: 2021 In Review
As always, Dustin, you make difficult look routine. Well done! One aside: The Ramsay footage cited in February as Three Minutes Well Spent was originally put out on a DVD as a free insert in Genii in 2008. I can’t recall the month but I imagine it was a Ramsay issue. Richard talked me into to it. (N...
- December 24th, 2021, 3:41 pm
- Forum: Close-Up Magic
- Topic: Where to perform on a rectangular table
- Replies: 7
- Views: 898
Re: Where to perform on a rectangular table
From my experience, I suggest you perform some of the material at one end, and shift to the other end during the course of the performance. You are not on a stage. You can move freely from one point, to another, or in the middle of it if places you for a particular effect beside the person you belie...
- November 30th, 2021, 2:04 am
- Forum: Collector's Marketplace
- Topic: Wanted: Non Plus Ultra Vol 1 & 2
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2595
Re: Wanted: Non Plus Ultra Vol 1 & 2
Wow! Thank you for all the interest. I’ll report back tomorrow if it is still on the shelf, and take it from there.
- November 27th, 2021, 5:09 pm
- Forum: Collector's Marketplace
- Topic: Wanted: Non Plus Ultra Vol 1 & 2
- Replies: 18
- Views: 2595
Re: Wanted: Non Plus Ultra Vol 1 & 2
I believe I can source a set in a collection I am dealing with. I can confirm on Tuesday. Shipping will, however, be expensive as the books are heavy and they will be coming from Canada.
- November 5th, 2021, 10:01 am
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns
- Replies: 40
- Views: 6442
Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns
Writing this from an airplane. I have never doubted that Scott was once a cheat. Whether he was a good one is open to debate. I do not believe McGuire had any intention of slighting Vernon. I do not believe Baker switched decks. I believe the pre-punched/marked decks were placed in a drawer as reque...
- November 5th, 2021, 5:52 am
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns
- Replies: 40
- Views: 6442
Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns
Bob This requires such a long response, and this thread is not the most appropriate forum, so to speak, to address all that has been raised, that it will have wait until another time. (And it doesn’t help that I will be in transit shortly.) Forgive me for suggesting you were in collusion with Bill K...
- November 4th, 2021, 8:28 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns
- Replies: 40
- Views: 6442
Re: The March Issue of Genii is Out and Jamy Swiss Returns
Or not. Bob’s commentary has fabrications, most likely fed to him directly by Mr. Kalush and Mr. Crist. Unless he can provide citations, for example, of what Persi Diaconis believes, other than by Jeff Busby, I would take them all with a grain of salt. Persi relayed to me in a personal letter that w...
- October 20th, 2021, 5:17 am
- Forum: Close-Up Magic
- Topic: ZOMBIE Hand-Little Hand New Version
- Replies: 47
- Views: 8178
Re: ZOMBIE Hand-Little Hand New Version
This exchange has brought back many fine memories. It turns out my little bank routine - and I am not sure it deserves a wider audience - was developed on August 5th, 1982. I only know this because I was in a Marlo phase and dated all my write ups at the time. I published it initially in Magical Mis...
- October 18th, 2021, 6:54 pm
- Forum: Close-Up Magic
- Topic: ZOMBIE Hand-Little Hand New Version
- Replies: 47
- Views: 8178
Re: ZOMBIE Hand-Little Hand New Version
In my first lecture, The Fringe, circa 1984 (?), I used one of those mechanical banks as a mind reading assistant. Person selected a card. I asked that the person inside the box tell us the name of the card. Forgot that they were “union”, (sorry), inserted the quarter in the slot. Hand emerged holdi...
- August 28th, 2021, 2:24 pm
- Forum: Platform & Stage Magic
- Topic: Instructions for Paul Fox candy bowl
- Replies: 15
- Views: 5470
Re: Instructions for Paul Fox candy bowl
The instructions provided with the apparatus issued by Danny Dew are rather sparse. A full presentation and handling, with a photograph and illustrations is described on pages 66 to 69 of Magic With Faucett Ross, written by Lewis Ganson. It is a terrific book, with lots of great magic, and well wort...
- August 23rd, 2021, 5:25 pm
- Forum: General
- Topic: The best book I have read in a long, long time!
- Replies: 1
- Views: 2185
The best book I have read in a long, long time!
I can't recall ever posting an unsolicited testimonial for a book related to magic. But here goes. James Hagy, well-known in magic history circles, has just written the best book I have ever read related to the performance of magic as it relates to actually making a living. It is, in essence, all th...
- April 12th, 2021, 6:43 am
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Magic in Theater Plays
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4227
Re: Magic in Theater Plays
Stoppard, like many playwrights, has dreamt up magic-related sequences, and added them into a play as a line of text without any instructions or methodology in the notes. In Rosencrantz, there is a scene where the main characters are betting repeatedly on the flip of a coin. Eventually the coin vani...
- April 12th, 2021, 5:45 am
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Magic in Theater Plays
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4227
Re: Magic in Theater Plays
Pippin is an excellent choice. Peter Samelson was the magic consultant for it, I believe, both on Broadway and on Tour.
- April 10th, 2021, 5:25 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Magic in Theater Plays
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4227
Re: Magic in Theater Plays
Sorry, the dates are for the year of the specific production, not when the works were written.
- April 10th, 2021, 5:23 pm
- Forum: Buzz
- Topic: Magic in Theater Plays
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4227
Re: Magic in Theater Plays
Not counting the six or so productions such as The Conjuror which I co-wrote for the theatre, I have consulted or created magic for the following plays or musicals: Sisters (2018), Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead (2015), Of Human Bondage (2014), Travesties (2009), School for Scandal (2002); Th...